j4ydubs

I was finally able to take some pictures of our Breakwater Blue 330. The sun was low in the sky, so they didn't come out as weel as I'd like, but they're not bad. I also parked my Durango next to it and took some pictures of them together.















John

LexRX

She may say she's not scared...but while sitting next to the RX, I see fear in that Durango's eyes

gs400998

Congrats on your new RX330. RX300 front and rear ends sure look nicer that your Durango

eyebike

Yeah, now that you point it out, the Durango has a pretty ugly snout!

j4ydubs

Hey! Don't make fun of my Durango!

While I'm not fond of the Durango's rear end (to much Caravan), I love the front end (snout). Of course, the 330 is in a different league.

The Durango is my "manly" truck. The 330 is my (wife's) pretty truck.

John

HarrierRX300

I tried to bargain with the dealer on a trade in for the breakwater blue. Do you mind if I ask what's the out the door price, before tax? Much appreciated. Also, are prices different in different states? I'm in San Francisco, CA

j4ydubs

It was $43,828. Couldn't get them to budge on the MSRP. I did get them to give me a good deal (way above Blue Book) on my trade-in though.

Don't know about the pricing in different states...

John

HarrierRX300

Thanks J4,
$43K out the door seems good. How much about kelly blue book? I'm looking at the breakwater blue too.

j4ydubs

From there intial offer of $500 less than blue book, I got them to give about $1500 above blue book. It was a 96 Dodge Avenger trade in, so it wasn't worth much to begin with, but I wasn't going to give it away either. I thought I did pretty good concidering the low value of the car.

I also made them match the 60 month interest rate that I would've gotten from my credit union (with point discounts). I'm sure I could have found a better deal, but I'm happy with what I got (5% for 60 months).

John

JRB

We have a Breakwater Blue on order so appreciate the pics while we wait....

Can I ask which interior color you went with, and what your impressions are of the various choices in combination with the exterior?

Also what you most/least happiest with about the vehicle so far?

j4ydubs

Sorry for the late reply. Wife just had a baby, so we've been dealing with that (he's a crier - unlike my daughter who was a very calm baby). 8 pounds, 21 inches...

The Breakwater Blue is a very nice color. My pictures don't do it justice. I have the Black Leather interior. At first I didn't want a dark interior, but now I think I like it better than the lighter interiors. The silver trim contrasts with the black very nicely. We got the black interior because with two kids, we wanted something that would wear better. I haven't seen the breakwater with the other interiors, but the silver/grey 330 we test drove was real nice. Grey was our first choice until we started thinking about the wear.

Most happiest with the ride and engine. It very smooth. The engine has a nice pickup if you punch it. It's (the engine) a little louder than I expected, but I actually like the sound and you only really hear it if you drive aggressively.

Least happiest with the transmission. It occasionally hunts for the right gear between 1st and 2nd. Seems to only happen after breaking to a slow speed (but not full stop) and then accelerating again. It's not a big deal though and I think I can change my driving style to compensate for it.

John

JRB

Our second choice was the Silver/Black interior, but we went with the Breakwater/Light Gray after seeing this combination at the local Auto Show. We have just one kid (12 year-old girl) so hopefully with proper care the lighter interior shade will hold up well.

Your comment on the transmission is very similar to those that I've heard and what I've experienced first-hand with our Audi allroad. In that case most owners over at AudiWorld.com attribute the delay, which really is only apparant when coming to a rolling stop and then quickly accelerating, to its "drive-by-wire" automatic transmission (those with the 6 speed do not experience any lag). Maybe the RX 330 is similarly affected, but I didn't experience it on either of my two test drives - maybe the conditions weren't right, or maybe I've just gotten used to it.

Congrats on the birth of your child, and best of luck with the new vehicle and more importantly the new baby.

- Joel

j4ydubs

Sounds feasable. It's not a big deal, just a little annoying. I might try driving in 4 speed mode to see if that makes a difference.

Thanks. Everything is going good with both new babies so far. Congrats on ordering the Breakwater Blue/Grey. We really did like the grey interior. Do you have a delivery date yet? Keep us updated.

John

JRB

Since it's a special order around here to get the Performance Package with Navigation, we're looking at 90-120 days out from April 18th, the day the order was placed. They say it's usually closer to 90 days or less, but they give the 90-120 day range so customers don't get too disappointed if there ends up being some kind of an unusual delay. Even if there is, it shouldn't be too much of a problem because my wife's '98 A4 still looks and runs like new (the Lexus will be her main ride).

Meanwhile I am unexpectedly getting a new vehicle way sooner than expected after managing to total my '01 allroad in a multi-car accident two weeks ago. Nobody was hurt, thank goodness, but the front end was damaged to the point where they decided it would need a new engine, which would have added about $15,000 to the repair bill. I felt bad about it 'cause I really loved this car, but I'm glad they decided to not try fixing it given the extent of damage, and apparently I would have lost my warranty protection on the (replacement) engine. The good news is that the insurance company is giving me $38,400 for a 2 1/2 year-old car with 35,000 miles - not bad since new it cost about what I'll be spending on an FX45 ($44,164 with Premium Pkg & Tow Hitch) which I'm picking up Thursday night. I never thought we would be owning two SUV/crossover vehicles at the same time, let alone two new vehicles of any kind at the same time, but with fishing/boating/vacation season coming up I didn't want to be without a family/towing vehicle that could comfortably fit the three of us when we go out of town. Although the FX does not have as much cargo space as the RX will, we can always throw extra gear in the boat.

Should be interesting to see which car she'll want to drive once her's gets here. The RX is a little more luxury with a smoother ride, while the FX is sportier with a very firm ride. I don't know if you've driven one yet, but the handling and its very strong acceleration make it a lot of fun to drive. Would not be good for sleeping babies, however!

j4ydubs

Cool. Sucks that you had a car accident, but it's nice to be getting a FX45 in exchange. You'll have to write up a comparison once you've spent time with the FX and RX.

Yeah, I did drive the FX45, but it really didn't suit us. We weren't looking for all out performance. We wanted more of a smooth, easy ride with SUV room. The wife has always wanted a Lexus, so after the test drive that was it. The RX330 is actually not the best vehicle for the baby either. It's a little too smooth. The Durango is a little rougher and that helps put him to sleep.

We use the Durango for towing (sold my boat, but might get another one in a year or two - I only have my quad to tow now).

John